Three candidates are in a race to be elected the next president of the IOC with winner set for daunting prospect of working alongside Donald Trump ahead of LA Olympics
Seb Coe has the backing of Usain Bolt and Mo Farah. But the endorsements of track and field’s good and great will have a minimal impact in Greece on Thursday when the IOC’s 109 delegates vote for their new president.
Coe is in a three-way race with Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr and Kirsty Coventry for the biggest job in sport with four also-rans on the secret ballot. And despite being the most visible candidate, history indicates that back-room lobbying is what matters most in sport’s most exclusive membership group.
Athletics chief Coe has framed himself as the man to modernise the Olympics and athlete empowerment. Coe’s pledges have focused on prioritising athletes and fans – specifically through “intensifying the work” around doping controls and introducing a ban on trans athletes and those with differences in sex development competing in all female sports.
“I will advocate for clear, science-based policies that safeguard the female category,” Coe said in his manifesto, having already introduced a ban in track and field.
Coe, 68, has also pointed to the need for the IOC to innovate and ensure the Olympics remains the biggest sporting event in the world.
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The Paris Games may have been a major success after the movement, as delegates like to call it, had entered a state of existential crisis in the dozen years after London. From cost and sustainability issues to simply keeping audiences engaged in an event that occurs once every four years – its mere long-term survival has been questioned by some critics.
But Coe says he has recognised the need for change to preserve its status as sport’s greatest show. That includes embracing artificial intelligence and finding new ways to engage younger fans – something he has worked hard to combat in athletics. “Commercial partners and broadcasters want modernisation,” he said.
He also is up for the daunting task of working with Donald Trump in the build-up to Los Angeles in three years’ time, and has committed to holding firm conversations with Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk about athletes being abused on social media.
But his decision to pay gold medalists in athletics at last summer’s Games caused irritation among many of the traditionalists who will decide the presidency from a hotel conference centre in Costa Navarino.
Zimbabwean Coventry is the preferred candidate of outgoing Thomas Bach and would become both the first female and African president.
Samaranch Jr, meanwhile, is expected to have the backing of many of the longest-serving delegates. His father, a close ally of General Franco, served as the IOC’s seventh president between 1980 and 2001 and was weighed down by a series of controversies. But Samaranch Jr is untainted by those and the smart money is on him getting the nod over Coe and Coventry.
The voting system is quite simple. If no candidate receives a majority in the first round, as will almost certainly happen here, the contender with the fewest votes will be eliminated and another round of voting takes place. It will continue in that fashion until a majority is reached.
The candidates
Prince Feisal Al Hussein (Jordan) – Long-serving member wants to use sport as a vehicle to bring peace but he is light on specifics.
Sebastian Coe (Great Britain) – Middle-distance great and London 2012 chief will empower athletes and focus on modernisation.
Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe) – Former swimming star would be first woman and African to become president and has Bach’s support.
Johan Eliasch (Sweden) – Skiing chief has climate at centre of his agenda but only joined IOC last year.
David Lappartient (France) – Cycling boss is drumming up late support and thinks esports belong at the Olympics.
Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (Spain) – Vice-president will have plenty of support from long-time colleagues.
Morinari Watanabe (Japan) – Would be first Asian to get the top job, wants to stage the Olympics across five different continents at the same time with ten sports in each host city.
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